Assignment
Name: Virani Dhara R.
Course: M. A. English
Semester: 2
Batch: 2019-2021
Roll no: 04
Submitted to: Smt S. B. Gardi Department of English
Paper no: 06
Subject: The Victorian Literature
Topic: Dickens’s dream of ideal society.
Charles Dickens :
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world’s best known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are still widely read today.
- Dickens’s works
•The Pickwick Papers-1836
• Oliver Twist-1837
• Nicholas Nickleby-1838
• The Old Curiosity Shop-1840
• Burnaby Rudge-1841
• Martin Chuzzlewit-1843
• David Copperfield-1849
Oliver Twist : The Parish Boy's Progress
This novel Oliver Twist considered as a novel of social protest published in November 1838. Through this novel Dickens try to portrait society of Victorian era, during this era how was the society, what types of crime or exploitation happen in the society. Especially for children and orphans. There are also some social evils and the prostitution also how going on during this time. Of course Dickens have some aims and want to display through this novel. And also we can see that what type of society should be and must some social evils abolished for glorified our society. Dickens have also the dream for ideal society.
Dickens dream of ‘ideal' society :
What type of society, can we called 'ideal' society? Is there any parameters through which we can said that how much society is ideal and is the needed to improve or dismiss from society. Of course we have some mind set to make our society like A utopia is an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities of for its citizens. The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia.
Utopia focuses on equality in economics, government and, justice, through by no means exclusively, with the method and structure of proposed implementation varying based on ideology. According to Lyman Tower Sargent.
But, here what kind of society, Dickens want? Dickens here in this novel mainly portrait or we can says that he exposed numberous social drawbacks in his novel. As the novel progresses the drawbacks, of the workhouse and under world of the 19th century Victorian society are exposed.
What is the reason for his dream of ‘ideal’ society
Of course one of the reason is that he was also suffer a lot in his childhood because of the social evils. In his earlier years, Charles was withdraw from school and forced to work in a warehouse that handled ‘bleaching’ or shoe polish to help support the family. This experience left profound psychological and sociological effects on Charles. It gave him a first hand acquaintance with poverty and made him the most vigorous and influential voice of the working classes in his age. May be through out his life he can see many social injustice and social evils in the society in his life. So, he want to make the society as an ideal and portrait how the social drawbacks still remain and it’s harms the society and also the children and poor became it’s victim.
In this novel Dickens portrait society, how it was, in this novel he also convey the situation of orphans through the young character Oliver Twist and spawned many other orphan tales. Some are also criticized Dickens for his portrayal of criminals and prostitutes in the novel, which at that time was controversial.
Institutional Cruelty:
The cruelty of institutions and bureaucracies is the major issue during that time, he was sustained attack on the British Poor Laws, a complex body of law that forced poor families to labour in prison-like “workhouse”. On of the novel's effect is condition of poor in England, and how they are treated through power and face institutional cruelty. In this novel he shows that they are human beings, and that they are not treated as such. One of the example is the situation of workhouse, in this workhouse most of the children are worker and they even not get some basic needs like food as well as care or love once Oliver after finished his served request for some food, he says that, ‘I want some more, sir!’, after this word/request/demand he was punished to out from workhouse. All the orphan children are work very hard, no one thought about their soft hand and their age of education as well as of playing. They have nothing to enjoy in childhood. They are only exploit by institutional cruelty as well as society, because society has also responsibility to take care of this type of children instead of misuse these children. So through this whole portrait he try to convince that this is not symbol of good society, in his dream of ideal society, there were no exploitation of children especially orphan or poor, and the are also treated same like others to, take care, get a love and some necessary things which normal people get, and don’t victim of social evils.
Under world of 19th century (the condition of society) :
Here, in this novel Dickens portrait under world society, the terrible underworld of crime and poverty in 19th century London, and also exposed the image of London in 1830’s, the social conditions of the lowest caste, the early Victorian underworld apart from upper class, what are doing the some lower class people, and how was their world is going no that is portrait in this novel by some characters, like Fagin, he was doing wrong thing but in addition he also spoiled the orphan and poor children by teaching how to thief. He also exposed the status of the Jewish minority and Dickens’s attitude towards executions as a method of punishment as well as his opinion about Jews. The practical part focuses on an analysis of individual characters in the novel's underworld. London of pre- Victorian era was a city of contrast; with wealth and splendour on the one side and dirt and shabbiness on the other. Of course the city of London grew up rich as Britain expanded into the overseas, but however, the nineteenth century London was also a city of poverty, with thousands of people living in the overcrowded slums. For a log time, these two different worlds were in a close touch. So, through this whole portrait we can said that Dickens’s dream of ideal society is that, no one poor in the society, and if any person suffering from poverty then it must be fault of system of society, because society also play a vital role in this class distinction as well as there is no class as upper class or lower class then can we said that ideal society according to dream of Charles Dickens.
Condition of women in society
In this novel he was also portrait the condition of woman as a powerless, and how she was treated under the hand of man, is this called the ideal society, of course, answer is not here Dickens portrait situation of woman in Victorian society, And the woman’s condition in the prostitution, he throw light on this and he want to said that, this is not fair and good symbol of society.
In this novel, he mainly focused on women’s condition through the character of Nancy as a woman represented as at the mercy of the more powerful in society. This is especially exemplified in Nancy, who ends up giving her life in her attempt to act against the men who hold power over here. When Nancy is put in charge of taking Oliver to Sikes, she tells him that she would help him if she could, but doesn’t have the power. This ends up not being completely tried she does help Oliver in going to Rose, but even then Rose must turn to Mr. Brownlow and Mr. Losberne to accomplish anything. It is telling to consider that Nancy must give her life for just this small show of agency. So, through this one incident or woman’s situation, Dickens try to apply that this is not good for society, for ideal society must the woman became free and she can take her decision by herself without any under the power. Man and woman must became equal for ideal society.
The limits of justice
In ideal society to have a justice is very important part. Every one can get right justice is a very important. But in real society it was not happen. In this novel he portrait this problem of injustice, almost all of the characters have faced justice, in one way or another. Dickens doesn’t seem completely comfortable with the way that justice has been meted out.
Through the reading reader also wary about the justice system because of how close Oliver comes to becoming an innocent victim of it. So, because of injustice or many other factors that
Makes the society weaker, so accordingly Dickens’s dream of ideal society, there must be some reform to make the society better or ideal.
Conclusion
In short, through this novel, in which Dickens portrait various social drawbacks, which we need to fulfill or reform to make the society better or ideal type of society, here in this novel he mainly focused on trouble of children especially orphan or poor and woman both of have no power, so to make the ideal society we must need some improve and reform in social norm/stereotypes and system.
Work citation:
Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Ed. Philip Home. London: Penguin Classics, 2003.
Chesney, Kellow. The Victorian Underworld. London: Temple Smith, 1970.
Sejnohova, Marketa. The Image of the London Underworld in Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist, Prague 2010.
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